This invention relates to a method for use applying a hip spica cast to a patient, particularly to a child or infant.
Hip spica cast immobilization is frequently indicated in the treatment of both traumatic and atraumatic conditions where the joints above and below the femur must be immobilized. The technique is used in both children and adults. However, it is most commonly performed in children because of its simplicity, effectiveness, and minimal morbidity in young patients. Because of the substantial manipulation necessary to complete the procedure, most children become over-aroused, over-stimulated, and defy optimal cooperation. For this reason, many surgeons apply hip spica casts in an operating room setting where the child's level of anesthesia and, hence, cooperation can be more entirely controlled. Commercial hip spica tables for the pediatric patient are not always readily available, and few institutions can justify the cost of purchase of such a seldom used specialty device.
During a conventional procedure utilizing a hip spica cast table, the child is placed on the table and the cast is applied about the child and a portion of the table. Subsequent to cast hardening or curing, the table is dissassembled. During the disassembly, a portion of the table is removed from the cast, thereby detaching the child from the table.
Hip spica cast application tables are not only expensive, they are uncomfortable for the child. In addition, a table has a fixed size and is accordingly limited in the range of patient sizes which can be accommodated.